October 7, Pozirk. A total of 77 people were added to the list of political prisoners last month, the Viasna Human Rights Center has reported.
Additionally, 19 people were retroactively declared political prisoners.
Officials charged 40 people under articles related to “extremism.” Twenty-eight people were arrested over comments under defamatory criminal articles. Nine were charged with participating in peaceful protests.
Earlier, Viasna reported that 40 political prisoners were pardoned last month in a deal between Minsk and the United States. They were all deported to Lithuania, except for opposition politician Mikałaj Statkievič, who refused to leave Belarus and is now missing.
Since 2020, at least 8,905 people have faced criminal prosecution for political reasons. At least 7,565 of them received politically motivated sentences, including in absentia.
In September, Viasna recorded 96 cases of political repression, including detentions and searches.
